by Lisa Lace
“What? I don’t. Did she say that? You know I’d never use banned substances. That’s easy enough to test for, too.” I was starting to babble.
“You can test for anything, but that won’t help change public opinion. She claims you took it every day over the course of your relationship.”
“Four dates is not a relationship,” I muttered. “I can’t believe anyone can abuse the truth like this.”
“I know it’s not true, Odin, but you have to focus.” I glanced down at Loki’s face on the computer. “The truth and perceived reality are different in a situation like this. The thing that matters right now is what she might say and how badly it will affect your image.”
All Loki cared about was what I looked like to other people. Sometimes I got so sick of being in the public eye and having to worry about my outward appearance that I considered quitting the sport altogether. I hadn’t been able to because I loved playing paraball. It was the best game in the world, I had a great team, and my fans were the best in the galaxy. I couldn’t believe that I got to play a game for a living. I thought I would never do anything else.
But if Kasiel went public with a rumor that I used any performance-enhancing drugs, especially erythropoietin, my career would be effectively over. I could easily imagine my suspension, an investigation, and the public outcry. My position on the team might not be there for me even if I were exonerated.
In zero-gravity sports, one of the most crucial aspects of training involved muscle regeneration. Because we spent a large part of our lives under an abnormally low gravity field, we had a steady loss of muscle and bone mass that we had to regenerate all the time. It was similar to what people experienced when they lived in space for extended periods of time. Quickly regaining lost muscle mass was one of the biggest challenges of the sport.
Erythropoietin increased the rate of production of red blood cells and helped bodies bulk up quickly. In fact, some other athletes had told me that when they were on the drug, it helped them regenerate more quickly and let them gain new muscle in record time.
The potential side effects were dangerous. I knew of only one athlete who died from an abnormally high fever induced by the drug. Nobody wanted to mention to the coroner that he had been taking erythropoietin, and the drug had decomposed out of his body by the time the coroner took a look. But all the paraballers knew the truth. It should have been a cautionary tale, but some of the guys never learned.
I would never take something like that myself. I wanted the game to be about how strong I could make my body and how far I could push myself. I wanted to train as far as I could go naturally.
Kasiel’s lies burned me to my core. She was willing to say whatever it took to hurt me because I wouldn’t date her.
“We have to have a press conference and issue a statement. We can make this go away, right?”
Loki let out a deep breath. “Haven’t you listened to anything I said?”
I frowned. “Of course I have. I might have blanked out for a minute after you said Kasiel was lying about me.”
“Grow up,” Loki snapped, his bushy gray eyebrows drawing together as he frowned at me. “You’re going to have to pay attention to everything. Kasiel hasn’t gone public yet. She called me and threatened that she would if you didn’t do what she wanted.”
“Well, what does she what?”
His pause sent a jolt of fear through me. Loki didn’t hesitate. His style was to blast through conversations like a bull. Pausing and thinking? That was for philosophers, not Loki.
“Don’t stop talking now. You might as well spill it. I’m going to find out eventually.”
“She wants to become your wife.” I froze, feeling stunned. “If you don’t marry her, she’s going to go public with all this bullshit. You know this would ruin your career, don’t you? It doesn’t matter what’s true and what’s a lie. Who cares if we eventually clear your name from the charges? No team is going to sign a player associated with erythropoietin.”
“I know. You don’t have to tell me.” I started pacing the room.
“We have to take care of her. We have to find a way to shut her up.”
“Are you saying to kill her?”
Loki looked at me strangely. “No, I don’t suggest you kill her. I have a better idea, but I don’t want you to dismiss it before you’ve heard everything I have to say.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m prepared to do anything. Nothing’s worse than losing my career to a lying bitch.”
“Some things might be.” He hesitated again. “She couldn’t force you to marry her if you were already married.”
I didn’t say anything, trying to process what he had said. “You know I’m not married, right? It’s kind of a deal-breaker for first dates.”
“Yes. I’m saying that we find you a bride. You would have to get married right away. We can say that you had a secret wedding because you’re a celebrity and didn’t want the press hounding you. Maybe you’ve been seeing her clandestinely for some time.”
“This is sounding worse and worse.”
“You might not like it, but it’s the best plan I’ve got. I’ve thought about it all night since she called me.” Loki was determined to get what he wanted, and always thought his ideas were the best. “How hard can it be to find someone to marry you? I’ll hire a private investigator to get her medical scans or perform them. When the tests come back, they’ll show that she was never pregnant and didn’t have an abortion. We can tell her later. We don’t need to confront her, and she won’t have anything to threaten you. It’s perfect, except for the part about you getting married.”
Perfect wouldn’t be my word for it at all. But the more I thought about Loki’s plan, the more convinced I became that it might work.
“Are you sure there’s no other way?”
“None that I can think of. And I’ve been scheming all night.” I looked at his image again closely, noticing that his eyes had bags under them. “I guess I’ll have to trust you. But where am I going to find someone to pose as my wife?”
“I’ll arrange everything. All you have to do is show up at the right place and have a ring.”
My palms were starting to sweat. “When you say that you’ll arrange everything, what exactly do you mean?”
“There’s a new company called Celestial Mates that sets up marriages between people. Have you seen their ads? Romancing the galaxy? They’ll get you a lovely bride. Don’t worry.”
“My future is in the hands of my publicist and a dating agency. I think I have the right to be a little worried.”
“Everything will be okay. People enter into arranged marriages every day.”
“They do? How many of your friends have arranged marriages?”
Loki ignored my question. “I’ll call you back when I’ve got everything set up. Be ready to start your new life in four days.”
“Believe me, I’m not in a hurry, but why is it going to take so long?” I asked. Four days was a long time even if the woman had to come from across the world.
“That’s how long it takes for the Earth shuttle to get here,” he said innocently.
“Wait a minute. The women are from Earth?”
“Yes.” He frowned at me. “Do you have a problem with aliens, Odin? We’re all descended from the Great Race, you know. I never thought you were a speciesist. If that comes out, it might be worse than an erythropoietin scandal.”
“You know what they say about people from Earth.” I trailed off, unwilling to repeat the rumors. “Couldn’t I find a wife myself? I’m Odin fucking Sobota.”
“Sure, if you don’t mind giving another person a reason to blackmail you. Celestial Mates is reputable, quick, and reliable. The women are good-looking but still desperate enough to marry someone they don’t even know. How are you going to find someone like that on your own?”
What could I say to that? I half-heartedly started making another excuse, but I couldn’t bring myself to put forth
the effort. “You’re right. Do what you have to do.”
This experiment was starting out terribly. I was going to end up with a wife from the lowest socio-economic class of planets in the entire galaxy. A girl from the wrong side of the tracks. My friends and the guys on the team would never let me hear the end of it.
Loki nodded. “I’ll call you when it’s time.”
“Okay,” I said, forcing a smile. “And thanks, Loki.”
“No problem. What’s good for you is good for me.”
Maybe it wasn’t a problem for him, but this was the biggest problem I had ever faced. I wondered if getting married was going to fix it.
Chapter Three
ODIN
In my down time, when I wasn’t practicing, I liked to frequent the bar at a particular nightclub. It advertised itself as an anti-gravity experience, but they were overselling it. There was still gravity, but you felt a lot lighter than normal, and could bounce around.
Why was I at a nightclub? I figured that if I was about to get married, I was going to have my kind of bachelor party involving a hot woman. Preferably she would be in a horizontal position.
Of course, I couldn’t tell anybody I was getting married, which made it difficult to invite my friends as I would have for a real bachelor party. Theoretically, the marriage would be temporary. After the divorce, I could go back to living a life that included lots of women.
I had taken to wearing holographic disguises when I was out in public. An expensive piece of software on my communications unit generated a holographic field around my face, giving me an entirely different appearance. No one would know I was Odin Sobota, the paraball player. The hologram covered my natural face. I could easily kiss a woman without having her realize anything was unusual.
Another reason why I was at a nightclub was that I had been on edge ever since Loki contacted me and let me know this was my last night as a single man. I needed to relax and find a woman with whom I could spend the night. She would take my mind off the next day and be my final fling.
It didn’t matter that all the brochures claimed I could divorce her in the future, and Celestial Mates would help. Too much could happen between now and then. Maybe the advertisements were wrong, and I would be stuck with a harpy. It made me nervous.
And what if I liked her?
That would be even worse. I didn’t want to fall in love. I had seen what it did to my father. He had loved my mother passionately, but she had never cared for him in the same way.
It had always been painful for me to observe once I realized what was happening. Mom was fond of him but sometimes, when he thought I wasn’t watching, I would see a wistful look in his eyes. When I was old enough to understand, I knew what that look meant. He wanted something more from her. She was always distracted with the latest trinket and could never love him the way he wanted to be loved.
My father’s fate would not be mine. My relationships with women were always simple. I had lots of women who were my friends. And I had groupies who were my fuck buddies. My life was perfect the way it was. I didn’t need anything else, I didn’t want anything else, and I wouldn’t ever have anything else. It just wasn’t in the cards for me.
A few hours later I was starting to feel the effects of the house liquor. It was an invention of the club owner and a crazy mix that he claimed wouldn’t come with a hangover. I certainly felt like I was going to have one tomorrow. Bodies filled the dance floor. It was happy hour, and the night was still young.
I had been eyeing the perfect woman all night and after exchanging looks, she had finally come over to talk to me. I had one rule on nights like these. They came to me. I never chased after them. Being the pursuer felt like I was giving my power away. I would never do that. Instead, I increased their desire for me. When they were close and dying for me, I went in for the kill. My rules always ended with me and the target in bed together.
After some small talk, the woman I had been scoping out dragged me onto the dance floor. We swayed and bounced lightly to the music as we plastered ourselves against each other. It wouldn’t be long before she begged me to take her home.
That’s when I felt a disturbance in the quantum field.
Everyone in the galaxy was a descendant from the Great Race, a name we called our joint ancestors. On some planets, the natives had developed special skills, abilities, or unique markings. On Dorsh, we had the power to sense and manipulate the quantum field.
My head came up, and I looked around, suddenly alert. What had caused the shift? It seemed like no one else had noticed, but the change was so powerful I was sure anyone who was from Dorsh had detected the anomaly.
“What is it?” the woman said, studying me. We had slowly stopped dancing.
“Something’s the matter with the field.” I gazed around the club but didn’t see anything unusual. “Don’t you sense it?”
She got a faraway look on her face as she opened herself up and made her mind more sensitive to the field. “No. I’m not getting anything.”
I frowned. “I have to go.” My interest in her had waned.
“Wait a second. I thought we were going to hang out and have some fun tonight.” She waggled her eyebrows at me and started to pout.
“Sorry.” I shook my head. “Maybe next time.”
The disruption was getting stronger. By now, it didn’t feel like a disturbance any longer. It was more like a humming in the back of my mind. I pushed through the crowd of people at the bar, searching for the origin of the sound in my head.
It felt like a song was pulsing through my body. It was old and familiar, yet at the same time exciting and new. It was a unique sensation. I had never felt anything like this before.
When I saw the woman, I knew she was the source of the interference.
She was so tiny that she seemed to be floating in the low gravity environment. She stood at a table by herself with a drink in her hand. She looked timid and uneasy. I wondered if she usually came to places like this. Her appearance gave me a strange feeling and the humming in my bones intensified.
I found myself beside her without knowing how I got there. When I was this close to her, I realized that I towered over her slight frame and felt overwhelmed by the small woman’s energy.
“Hey. How’s it going?” Was that going to be my opening line? It was terrible.
She gave me a brief smile, then turned her eyes back to the crowd. “Good, thanks.”
I gazed at her intently. Her face looked familiar. I felt like I had seen her somewhere before. She didn’t say anything else.
What should I say to her? Usually, I had lots of things to talk about with people. I’m an extrovert and rarely tongue-tied. So what was my problem now? My mind was empty, and I was taking a long time staring at her. I needed to say something before we both became uncomfortable.
“Are you from around here?” I blurted out.
She gave off a slightly foreign vibe. Maybe she was uncomfortable because she was from a different planet.
“No, I’m not.” She had a wry look on her face, still watching the people and not meeting my eye.
“Just visiting then?”
She dropped her eyes to her drink. She had sparkling brown eyes. When she looked back up at me, I felt my stomach lurch.
“I’m here for a wedding.”
“That sounds lovely.” I took a sip from my drink. The cups were sealed spheres so the liquid couldn’t spill out of them. You had to suck on the opening hard enough to get the drink into your mouth. I had done this many times before, but when I took a drink standing beside the tiny woman, the action became sensual. I was getting turned on by being around her. I had never experienced anything like this before, and I wondered if something was wrong with me.
“When’s the wedding?” I wondered if she would walk away from me thinking that I was the most annoying person on the planet.
“Tomorrow.”
I nodded. “So that means you’re not busy tonight?”
/> Smiles and pickup lines had deserted me. I felt like I couldn’t let her get away. Asking if she were busy tonight was about as useful as setting up an appointment to fuck her. But I needed to spend time with her, hopefully skin-to-skin, and I had blurted out the first thing that came into my mind.
The comment made her look up. And instead of seeing an edgy look of discomfort on her face, I detected a twinkle in her eye and a sassy expression.
“Why do you ask?” When she spoke, her eyes took on a smoldering look that made me feel like I had known her for my entire life. I wondered what power this little sorceress had over me. I was starting to chase her, which would break all my rules of engagement and give her all the power. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
I didn’t know how to answer her. I was pretty sure that telling her I wanted to take her back to my place and fuck her all night long would send her running. Instead, I proposed the only thing I could imagine for a visitor to my planet.
“Well, I thought I could show you around a little bit. We can have dinner, do some sightseeing. Everyone wants to do that.”
Letting her know we would be in a public area was safe. It was probably the best thing I had said to her since I saw her.
“Hmmm,” she waffled. “I don’t know you. I don’t think that would be very smart of me.”
I moved in close to her and noticed her chest lift up as she took a bigger breath. Maybe she was affected by my presence as well...or I was having a bad case of wishful thinking.
“You’re right. Maybe it wouldn’t be smart. But you should do it anyway.” I held her gaze as I spoke. She was the first one to break eye contact and set her drink down on the table. She had been holding it for our entire conversation.
She looked me over slowly. I immediately realized that she wasn’t as timid as she had initially seemed. “Too bad I don’t take advice from strangers,” she said. “See you around, big guy.”
She didn’t hang around to exchange witty banter with me. She just walked out of the bar and out of my life. I watched her butt sway back and forth in a tight black jumpsuit that was the height of current Dorsh fashion. Although she was small, she had sexy hips. Each cheek of her ass would be about right for one of my hands. The thought made me hard, but shifting my feet made it possible for me to ignore it.
